The Founded: Retribution
by The Founder
Summary: When a mission goes south, Otto is, once again, sought out for his abilities. Having been captured by the ruthless organisation The Founded, and is further than ever from his friends, Otto must call on all of his training to survive the tactical training, medical trials and twisted psychiatrists that make up the organisation.
1. Chapter One

Chapter One - The detention centre

Voices, whispering, all swimming around in his head; he was floating deep, under the water. Sometimes there was a thousand voices all at once, and then for a few seconds, a couple of them became clear. However, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't make out what they were saying. Crying, someone was crying and people were shouting. So loud. Then nothing but a high pitched ringing. When the white noise cleared, one voice seemed to cut through the fog, like battling through creeper vines.

"Hey," was all that it said; loud and desperate. "Hey, come on," it added, just as quickly. Shapes, blurred shapes danced their way into his vision, making his eyes hurt. He blinked hard to clear them, but it didn't work. "Hey," the voice shouted again. Now he could feel something on his upper arm, like a hand. "Get up." He blinked rapidly, the shapes morphing into a crowd. He now felt the strong hand gripping his arm tight, pulling him upwards. "Come on, get up," the voice belonged to the closest face. A boy; older than him, dark cropped hair and piecing blue eyes. "There we go," the blue eyed boy said as he hauled him up and half walked, half dragged him over to one of the many benches. He sat him down and slapped his cheek with the back of his hand. "Hey fresh meat, I'm doing you a favour, trust me. Wake up, come on." His voice was clear now, deep and seemingly wise. His face, however, took a few more blinks to define.

"W-What?" he groaned, furrowing his brow. The boy turned his shoulder, revealing the white, tiled floor he had just been dragged from, and pointed.

"If you stay down there, the reapers 'ill 'ave ya." London, the boy was cockney, but Otto took little notice of his observation.

"Reapers?" he had a million questions, but that one seemed to just fall from his lips. The boy rolled his eyes with amusement.

"They're just like you and me, got the name from some story outside this place, but when the newbies get dropped off they take out a year's worth oppression on the one thing they can. Anyone else would nail 'em. But needless to say, all that testosterone and crap, it's ain't fun if you're on their 'to do list', newbie." The boy, who was previously crouched in front of Otto, now sat on the bench beside him. Otto turned, to look at him, taking in the absurdity of the room as he did.

"What is this place?" he asked, unwillingly. A natural reflex of curiosity. The boy, who had been perfectly pleasant up until this point, let his face turn. His eyes hardened with a defence that was new to Otto, and he could have sworn he saw his lip quiver.

"You're in the doll 'ouse," he muttered, not looking at Otto. Then his eyes flicked up and his gaze locked with Otto's, reflecting the bright lights of the room or shining with fear. "Living hell," he almost whispered. The sound of padding shoes reached both of their ears. Otto looked up to the tall figure dressed completely in black, but the boy, who had his back to the man, did not look. A black gloved hand came down on his shoulder and he jumped ever so slightly, before the hand pulled him roughly from the bench and tightened its grip on his white shirt. Otto watched as the boy was marched away, through the large doorway and out of sight. A part of Otto thought that he should follow them, but he decided that he would probably learn more if he stayed there and watched the activity in the room.

The floor was white tiled, as he had noticed before. Looking up revealed three story walls, stretching up to the enormous ceiling that was littered with flood lights. The walls themselves were washed with a homburg grey and were smooth and empty besides the doorway and one other strange indent. It looked look a hanger door should be there, but it seemed to blend seamlessly with the rest of the wall. Otto could only assume that, considering he and his equally dumbfounded accompaniments had all woken up at the foot of that indent that was where they had been introduced into this strange environment. He sat on the first row of cold, white metal benches, but they stretched endless behind him, row upon row. There was a raised level at the back of the room, dimly illuminated by blue tinged lights and an identical set up presented itself at the front of the room. There was a large gap between this stage and Otto, in which at least 50 kids, presumably in the same situation sat or stood. Only a few joined Otto on the benches.

Suddenly, he became aware of the fact that everyone was sharing the same attire. White shirts, light grey joggers and white trainers. Although among those who the boy had referred to as the reapers, who prowled around looking and sneering, their uniforms varied. Some wore tank-tops, others quarter length sleeves. A few had cropped joggers, whilst some even wore shorts. However, Otto sat in a plain white t-shirt that seemed to be a size too big, as it hung loose on his petit frame, standard leg wear and comfortably fitting white shoes. He began to wonder how he had ended up in these clothes as he was not wearing them when he went under, but soon decided that it was a question best left unanswered.

His thoughts were shattered, when a few shouts cut through the mummers of the room. A brutish looking boy, wide shoulders and muscular arms, had his hard eyes locked on one of the new comers, who slowly drew into themselves. He laughed in a dumb way, his movements were messy as if his only purpose in life was to show off to a constantly unimpressed crowd. Which is exactly what he planned to do now. Otto couldn't hear what he was saying over all the jeering and whimpering, but he watched, his stomach turning, as the boy got a firm grip on the scrawny little figure's shirt. He yanked him up and drew back a large fist, before he swung, smashing his knuckles into the boys nose. He crumpled to the ground, blood pouring from both nostrils and although Otto couldn't hear him, he could tell the brute was laughing. He kicked the boy with an unmerciful force and the boy rolled over coughing violently. Cracked rips. The thuggish looking boy then crouched down over him and took a fistful of his chocolate hair, forcing his head up. The young boy was crying now, tears blending with the blood.

Otto winced, not wanting to see his face collide with the tile, but then a loud shout, louder than the commotion, sliced through the air like a knife.

"Hey Colton," it barked angrily. Otto's head snapped round and he was able to see a girl advancing on the fight. She had come from the door way, where more students poured in to take a look at the 'fresh meat.' Her slender frame was toned with muscle, but she walked like an actress, a movie star. She wore a snug fitting tank top, which showed up her flawless skin. Her dark hair was pulled back into ponytail with a few curled pieces framing her face. She was intriguingly beautiful, but there was no doubt in Otto's mind that she was dangerous. "Put him down, dickhead," she snarled as she got close. A grin spread across Colton's face and he dropped the boy, whose head fell and hit the floor. He pushed himself up and slowly wandered over to where she stood with her arms folded.

"Hey sweetheart," he grinned evilly, "I was beginning to wander when you'd show up." She laughed a little, before swinging her leg round, her foot connecting with the side of his head. He stumbled back, but did not fall, and raised one hand to his cheek where a bruise was already forming. "Okay," he said eagerly, before throwing a punch. And so it had begun, Otto joined everyone in the room, watching the heated battle. They moved with such precision and skill, it made him think of Wing. _Wing?_ Were the others captured too? What if they were hurt? His heart began to race, but before he could drown in the doubts of his friend's whereabouts, the girl caught his eye once more. Colton was on his knees, looking helplessly up at her as crimson streamed down his face. She held the side of his face with a bruised hand. His face morphed into a seen of agony and he cried out. Blood started to drip from his ears and nose. He screamed and chocked, spluttering on saliva, sweat and more blood. Otto's eyes widened; what was she doing? Her eyes locked, she continued to stare into his until he was a choking mess. Then black clad men, like the one from before, tackled her and it was like some sort of glass box that she had around him smashed and he fell to the floor, coughing like his own victim had done. The soldier-like men gripped the girl's arms, one on each and two more at her back. They turned her round and marched her roughly from the room.

Otto's mind was racing. What had he just seen? It made him ask the question again: What is this place? And where were his friends? He paused, trying to gather his thoughts. He needed to speak to that girl, whoever she was. He guessed by the nature of the situation, she was headed to some detention centre, where she would be punished for nearly turning a student inside out it seemed. He thought about it for moment and then reached only one conclusion. Once the conclusion had been made, every light in the room, and presumably outside of the room due to the light fluctuations dancing on the wall outside the doorway, began to dim and flicker violently. A few of the newbies screamed with fear, while the students looked around in confusion.

There were several angry shouts coming from down the corridor, followed by angry footsteps. They got closer, but the closest ones where not storming and heavy, but slow and pacing.

"Mr Malpense," another voice smiled. Otto opened his eyes and was met with a mountain of a man. He wore a military uniform and in one hand held a thin brown package. "I must say Otto, your profile is impressive, but I didn't know that you would be gifting us with your abilities so soon," he continued in a calm, but sadistically tinged, tone. Otto took a half second glance at the room around them. Everyone had fallen silent, even the reapers. Whoever the man who stood in front of him was, he appeared to be a feared member of their community. Very feared. "Unfortunately for you, such abilities without proper oversight is against regulations, which means that you and me are gonna go for a little walk." With that he jerked two fingers towards him and the obedient, darkly dressed men grappled his frail arms and hauled him up.

A few people sucked in a sharp breath through the teeth, grimacing as if they know exactly what was going to happen to him. He had no doubt that they did and was starting to slightly regret his decision. The men walked so fast, he stumbled continuously in an attempt to keep up with them. At one point he thought it would be easier if he just let them drag him.

They were walking for at least five minutes before they stopped in front of a clear glass door. The feared man placed a hand on a cool, blue panel which let out a small electronic bleep and the door hissed open. They started walking again… or falling. After a few more minutes of warren like corridors, all white and brightly lit, they finally came to a halt, allowing Otto to gather his feet, which were now sore, up underneath him. They advanced through one more door, similar to the other one. This room was much darker, giving their eyes a rest. Lo and behold, the girl was sitting there on a large padded bench. Two of these lined the walls of the small room, one on each side. Her hand was chained to the bench, where padding became metal and she sat with this hand pinned between her legs, one propped up on the seat, the other resting naturally, and foot on the floor. Otto was pushed down onto the seat opposite her and restrained in a similar fashion. The lock clicked and then bleeped; he wasn't getting out of it. "I'm surprised to see you here Alexis, I thought we had spoken about your behaviour," the man said unhappily, scanning over Otto's profile that was still in his hands. He pulled out a sheet that read at the top with big, thick black letters: Medical Profile, and tucked it into a pocket in the wall by Otto's head. 'Alexis' had an identical one on her right. At first it looked as if she was going to reply with some witty comment, but then she stopped and just glared at him. He left the room. She looked at Otto, scanning him and he shifted uncomfortably under her gaze.

"Wow," she breathed. "You've been here five minutes. _What_ did you do?" She was from the south of England, Otto thought, much like himself. He, although completely intimidated, found it in himself to shrug and say,

"I don't really know." It wasn't a lie. The technology here was advanced and some of it new to Otto, even with his abilities. He had no idea about the damage he caused, if he even caused any at all. "But what did _you_ do?" he didn't mean to sound so eager, "I mean-"

"Its fine," she cut him off. "I don't expect you to understand, but give it a couple of weeks and you will," she said quickly, underestimating his experience. "What's your name?" she added, changing the subject.

"Otto," Otto replied. "Otto M-" he was about to say his last name, but his years had taught him better. She looked at him expectantly, shaking her head in confusion when he didn't speak. What the hell? "Malpense," he spat out. She nodded, acknowledging his name.

"Alexis Johnson," she half smiled, "I would shake your hand, but," she gestured to the restraint. He nodded. Again, that question cropped up in his mind and he thought she might be more helpful than the boy from before.

"What is this place?" he found himself asking. She almost laughed, but with no humour. She looked at him now with seriousness.

"It's a school." _H.I.V.E_ Otto thought. "They train us, to fight." Again Otto laughed internally at the similarities. "But we're just experiments. You're gonna be stabbed with a needle more times than you can count and if you're lucky, you'll still have motor function by the end of this year." Okay, not H.I.V.E. Otto's brow furrowed.

"But those kids, out there?" he muttered, confused as to why they did not look like lab rats.

"It's survival of the fittest. If you're weak you die, if they don't find you interesting you die, if you're not positive…"

"Let me guess, you die," Otto chipped in. She nodded, adjusting her sitting position to a more comfortable one.

"All those students you saw out there are incredibly strong and have potential in the scientists' eyes. If I see you next term, I'll hand it to you. If I don't, my condolences, not that you'll need them." Otto didn't often get nervous, but on rare occasions there is always something that was just enough to make his hairs stand on end. He swallowed hard, but as he was preparing to further his friendly interrogation, two guards appeared in the opening door way to a room labelled: Detention 0.2. They made their way over to Otto and his breath shallowed as they undid the lock and pulled him up. He looked back at Alexis as they took him away, slightly panicked. She gave him a very certain look that read as: You can do this. He turned back around and noted that this new room was much like the corridors. White washed and blindingly bright. In the centre of the square was a table, restraints and all.

"Oh God," He breathed quietly, he was pulled onto the table and pinned down as the first restraint around his ankle was secured. Okay, now he was panicking. He began struggle, trying to break free from their grip, but they held on tighter. "No, no," he couldn't help but splutter. "Stop," he said, pulling with his leg, in an attempt to get free from the thick cuff around his ankle. He kicked with his other leg, but it was caught and pinned in place. It was subjected to similar treatment. "No," he breathed, starting to realise that this was happening and he was not getting out of it. As he heaved, his wrists were secured and the two men left the room, leaving him alone. He craned his neck to take in his surroundings. There was a large mirror on the wall directly in front of him, a window of course, where he was being watched. To his right was a set of technical machinery, which he had considered tapping into, but his mind was clouded, fogged by something? Tilting his head back, revealed a vent, which blew cool air into his face. He instantly felt worse, which led to his assumption that it was not just oxygen that was being pumped into the room. He lay there for a few minutes; it was so quite.

Then the door hissed open and along with this his heart began to race. He looked up. A man, one that he had not seen yet, entered. He was tall and muscular, but not broad. His hair was dark, almost black, and his eyes were a deep brown. He wore a pristine suit, crisp and untouched and he adjusted his sleeve as he walked over. The way his walked and held himself, so in control, made Otto almost fear him without reason. He was silent for a long while, studying Otto intensely. Then,

"Not quite H.I.V.E is it, Otto?" he smiled calmly. "I bet you must be wandering what happened to your friends." His words made Otto tense and he began to pull again at the restraints. "Relax," he continued to smile, "Unfortunately for me, I was only able to acquire one," he pointed at Otto, "yourself, their skills would have set them up to be wonderful assets, however I do believe that I got the best pick of the litter, according to you profile," he seemed quite excited to be talking with Otto. "I must commend you on you academic achievements, but not to mention your field work, it is quite… unprecedented." Otto glared at him.

"How did you know me?" he spat, pulling again at the restraints. The man chuckled.

"We've kept tabs on H.I.V.E students since before you were born. We operate outside of G.L.O.V.E, so our infiltrators are rather unsuspected," He replied, clasping his hands together, before gesturing to be joined in the room.

"Who are you?" Otto demanded, watching as a smartly dressed man in a white coat stood by his side.

"My name is Doctor Braedon and I am so looking forward to what you have to offer. However, at this current time you find yourself in our detention centre, so regrettably I must introduce to our punishing methods in the hope that you decide not to encounter them again. I would hate to damage such a precious asset." His words made Otto's blood run cold. He left.

* * *

"Damn it," Nero shouted, slamming his fist down on the table. Shelby and Laura jumped, but Wing just looked on silently. Raven strode past the three alpha students.

"Really Max, he's been taken before. We will retrieve him," she said calmly. Although she feared the worst much like he did. His head snapped round and he looked at her.

"Come," he said more calmly. They followed him, past the stations of the tech officers, and reached a monitor. "Bring up the shroud surveillance footage, eighteen hundred hours," he gestured impatiently to a nearby technician. They were quick to bring up and blurred image of Otto's unconscious frame being carried bridal style towards a black militarised vehicle. "Zoom in on that sign." No one could see the sign Nero was referring to; the surface of the vehicle looked like smooth black metal, _clear,_ smooth black metal. Nero rolled his eyes and pointed, guiding the technician. There it was, perfectly concealed, in silver letters. THE FOUNDED: Federation of utilisation, knowledge, discipline, education and dispatch. Raven's heart fell.

Nero turned, looking at them with desperate sadness and anger. "He was taken by the founded." He looked around at the four of them and very quietly said. "He's not coming back."

Laura felt hot tears prick at the back of her eyes, but before they went any further, she turned on her heels and fled the room. Shelby ran after her, followed by Wing, who took one last chance to study Otto's image on the monitor, before he turned and walked out. Raven turned to Nero.

"We're not letting him go without a fight," she said firmly. His tired eyes flicked up, locking with hers. They were suddenly cold and focused.

"No, we're not," he agreed. Raven looked at the monitor. She looked at Otto, like they all had done.

"What do you suggest Max?" He shook his head.

"We start by analysing the vehicles travel path. There is only a few more minutes of footage before they blocked our shroud's signal, but we might get some idea of what direction they were going in."

* * *

Otto's breath was now quick and shallow as he now had an IV inserted in his arm. It had hurt a lot, but he was positive that it would be nothing compared to what was next. He watched with fearful eyes as the doctor pulled out several wires that were hooked to an echocardiogram machine. He adhered the wires to the pads on his chest, which was now bare after they had pulled his top up. The doctor pulled in back down once he was finished and followed a similar procedure on his temples. He then inserted a syringe into the injection port of the IV. A pale blue liquid travelled down the transparent tube and Otto, once again, struggled hard as it reached his skin. He winced as it entered his veins. He braced himself.

"I've inserted a catheter into you Cephalic vein, where I've administered a synthetic solution," the Doctor said, reading his expression. "This may hurt a bit." He made his way over to a monitor that flashed up graphs and Otto's heart rate, bpm, and brain function. He didn't care about that, he cared about the sensation of heat that was now travelling through his veins. The heat intensified until it felt as if his blood was quite literally boiling. He whimpered, squeezing his eyes shut, but the pain only got worse. It reached his head and it began to burn. He couldn't hold it any more, he screamed and screamed. The agony was almost unbearable. He wreathed on the table, desperate to break free so that he could curl up into a ball. A second wave hit him like a wrecking ball and his screams increased, getting louder and filled with despair.

"Please," he wailed, choking on his words and coughing hard, but it racked his skull and the pain got worse. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't think.

Ten unbearable and excruciating minutes ticked by and he was tired, but the pain had not lessoned. He had lost his voice from screaming and now he lay, barely moving and whimpering pathetically as the heart rate monitor displayed his, still racing, bpm. But it was all too much, it all hurt too much. Blackness creeped into his vision and he felt himself loosing grip off the table beneath him. He became less and less aware and then everything went dark. His bpm stabilised under the painless unconsciousness and Doctor Braeden, who had been standing on the other side of the glass, looked at Otto curiously.

"Sir," a technician said cautiously. "No student has ever stayed conscious for the amount of time," he reported. Braeden nodded, one hand on his chin.

"Yes, I'm aware. We'll have to keep a close eye on this one." He took a sharp breath, gathering his thoughts. "Have him transported to the main building. I'm aware of his interactions with Miss. Johnson, however it was be most interesting to see who else he becomes acquainted with."


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two - Welcome to the doll house

"It gets to you the first time, doesn't it?" a voice cut through the air. Otto didn't look up. Instead, he remained huddled on the floor, shaking violently. "Hey," the voice added reassuringly, taking his wrist. His blue eyes snapped up, not through curiosity, but a new found fear. However, looking up revealed a girl, no older than himself. Her mousey brown hair was cut above her collar bone and her emerald eyes sparkled under the cold lights. She sighed at him, but it was a kind enough action. "If you're smart, it won't happen again," she finally spoke again. Regaining his sanity, Otto breathed heavily out into the white air. He wanted to say so many things, but he said nothing. She went from crouching to sliding down onto her butt and crossing her legs. "I'm Echo." Otto's brow furrowed.

"W-why are you called Echo?" he asked. She shrugged.

"Echo's don't have a voice, they just follow orders" she said simply. Otto could have almost laughed at the irony of her comment. No doubt her very name was an order, explaining itself. He also had no doubt that she had spent many hours in the detention centre with a name like that. "And you?"

"Otto," he said, slightly more confidently. She half smiled at him, but he was caught up in his internal questions.

"Welcome to the doll house." Otto's thoughts were shattered and his head snapped around to her.

"I've heard that before. What does it mean?" he asked her curiously. She gave him the same look as the boy from before and he really hoped that he wasn't going to get the same vague answer. He couldn't make sense of it though; the students seemed cheery enough, but when he asked too many questions they all looked as if they had just been forced to watch a torture session.

"It's a nickname the students gave this place. We don't know its real name, so we figured we're just Braedon's toys, to be tampered with and broken more often than not. They thought the doll house was a fitting name." She pushed herself up and stood with her hands on her hips. "Come on." Otto was confused, but he got up and followed her. They had been sitting in a small room that broke off from a larger area. Otto couldn't quite remember how he had ended up there as he didn't remember much but the pain. Passing the glass door that sectioned them off, they entered a space that looked like it had been ripped out of the big brother house and shoved into the building. Colourful neon lights cut open the darkness of the slick black worktops and bar. Music poured from a state of the art speaker and whilst some students were dancing or drinking, many were lounging on the array of colourful arm chairs. It was all quite bizarre, to have such an environment amidst the rest of a complex, which was so drastically different. "A place for us to pretend we're not in hell," Echo explained as if she had read his mind. She gestured for him to keep walking, and pushed open one of the black glass doors.

"Where are we going?" Otto asked, speeding up slightly to catch up with her. She didn't turn to look at him, but carried on striding down the corridor.

"There's someone I want you to meet," she almost smiled. "You need to make some friends. Trust me, you won't make it very far if you don't." He took a deep breath, weighing up his options. He could go back into that room, but he wouldn't have much to do, he could go with Echo or he could run off and work it out on his own. Though, he wanted to find Alexis, he didn't know what it was, natural judgement perhaps, but he got the feeling that she would be able to help him. For now, he would follow Echo. If she was right, the more friends the merrier, and from the looks of it, he would have plenty of time to find Alexis later.

They walked for a good five minutes in a comfortable silence. Otto took in the route, making a mental map, precise down to the last light lining the corridor. Then they came to a set of heavy steel doors and Echo stopped. A pale blue light plunged into existence and buzzed gently as it scanned over them both. The light disappeared and the door clicked. Echo yanked it open and let Otto through. He was amazed to find himself in a long, square shaft. Taking a few steps forwards, he realised they were on a bridge, enclosed completely with glass walls, floor and ceiling. He looked at the ground, which dropped away at least forty feet beneath them, as they proceeded forwards. Echo walked beside him, rolling up her sleeve when it fell down. She was waiting for something… they were half way across.

Otto looked up. Desolation. The dry, orangey earth spread out as far as the eye could see. There was nothing around them, apart from the silhouette of a city in the distance. However, a closer look revealed that the city was just a desolate and decrepit as the rest of the landscape. Echo had been waiting for his eyes to fall upon this and widen. "I know right," she breathed.

"Where are we?" he said, not looking away. She shook her head.

"No one knows." They kept walking and finally reached the end of the bridge, passing an identical set of doors.

Jack cried out into the air, throwing punches hard into the solid punching bag inches away. Every part of Jack Fyland was intimidating. He was six foot two inches tall, with an impressive six pack and muscular arms; his chocolate coloured hair was shoved into a low bun, as the length of it allowed this, and kept out of his equally dark eyes. He was model-like, but thought models to be too weak and submissive. The swing of his fist colliding with the padding with a massive bang explained in more than enough detail that he did not consider himself a model.

"Jack…" He did not turn. "Jack!" His head snapped round at the shout and he stopped, before moving away from the punching bag. He watched as Echo moved over the mats towards him. Her hair, stopping half way down her neck, swayed as she strode across the gymnasium. She wore a quarter length sleeved white top and cropped joggers that only just reached past her knees. He smiled as she approached, but she wasn't alone. Next to her, a boy with white hair stood. He'd never seen anything quite like it. "Otto, I'd like you to meet Jack, Jack, Otto," she smiled, gesturing between the both of them. Jack held out his hand and Otto cautiously shook it.

"I would say nice to meet you, but…" he said with an American accent, vaguely gesturing to the walls around them. Otto nodded.

* * *

The air hung still in the dark light; it was colder. Otto would have felt the cool glaze of sweat on his skin had he not done this a million times before.

"What I am asking of you," Nero's calm voice begun as he paced in front of his students, "is not going to be easy. However, being my most..." He paused as if finding the right word, "reckless students, I thought the task would be most suited to you." The faces of Otto, Wing, Shelby and Laura stared back in the dim light. For a moment, they were serious, what they had been trained to be; as cold as the air around them. Then Otto's hand shot up, breaking that moment.

"I, for one, find it highly offensive that you would accuse _us_ of being reckless," he argued mockingly. Laura rolled her eyes.

"As much as your endearing comments are always appreciated Mr Malpense, it is your brains that I am looking for in this situation, not your whit." Otto opened his mouth, but before he could get another word out, Laura cut in to stop him.

"And what does this involve exactly?" she asked, ignoring Otto's fake annoyance.

"A very good question Miss Brand. Certain branches of GLOVE deal with clients, some more dangerous than others, as I'm sure you're aware. It appears that one of our more threatening clients is rather keen on a certain microchip being held at a safe house, at which Raven is conveniently attending a… party," he tried not to smirk at his choice of words.

"What microchip?" Shelby asked.

"What party?" Otto added.

"That information, regrettably, cannot be discussed and as much as I hate to mix students with Raven's affairs, due to the lack of recourses it seems that I have no choice but to ask for your help, whilst allowing Raven to carry out her duties…"

* * *

"Otto?" Echo asked quietly, confused by his own expression of utter confusion. His eyes flicked up; he looked at her, then Jack and then back at the floor again.

"I can't remember it all, but some-"

"Otto, what the hell are you talking about?" Echo said, crossing her arms and waiting for an answer. He looked up, not so confused now.

"I remember being with my friends, before we went out into the field. That's how I got here," he tried to explain, but it made no sense to them.

"What?" She was growing impatient, stepping forwards. Jack put a strong arm out, stopping her in her tracks. When she stopped, he moved away and began to unwrap his glove straps.

"How you got here? Well, you were knocked out… obviously," Otto nodded, rolling his eyes. "Maybe the drugs effected your memory, it's probably only just wearing off," Jack suggested. It made sense. This wasn't the first time Otto had been subjected to such treatment. Echo nodded understandingly. Suddenly, a loud bleeping; a deafening bleeping rang out, shattering their mellow conversion. _What is that?_ Otto thought.

"Dinner bell," Echo almost laugh, reading his shocked expression.

"Oh God, I need to get changed, I'll meet you guys in there," Jack patted Echo's shoulder, before turning on his heels and jogging towards what Otto could only presume was the changing rooms.

"They don't like it when you're late for dinner, we should probably go," Echo explained, turning Otto's head with her voice. He nodded, following her from the room. He was just impressed by the architecture of the mysterious glass bridge between the two building the second time he crossed it and was equally happy to learn that he still remembered the route back. The dining room, or more of a cafeteria, was next to the wreck room, where they had begun their little tour. Hundreds of similar aged kids filtered in for food and Otto was astounded by similarities it shared with H.I.V.E, and he couldn't help but wonder how many more facilities like this existed. "Come," Echo gestured for him to follow and, together, they weaved their way through the bustling students. It seemed that Echo had already chosen a table and was determined to reach it, however, when they did, Otto was surprised to say the least.

"Alexis?" he questioned, looking between the two girls. Alexis smiled. She sat around the large table, one arm over the back of the chair.

"Hi white. I see you've met my roommate."

"Echo is your roommate?" Otto replied, sitting down when Echo gestured for him to do so and nodded at his question.

"I asked her to roll out the welcome wagon for you while I was in the detention centre." Echo had turned and disappeared off into the crowd of white tops, leaving Otto and Alexis alone on the table. The whole room was alive with loud activity, but it was as if there was a force field around them, like no one would be able to hear them talking as much as they couldn't hear anyone else.

Several minutes later, Echo returned with three platefuls of food, identical to the one that Alexis hadn't touched in front of her. A few more minutes and they were joined at the table by Jack, whose tied back hair was still damp from a shower presumably. Echo placed a plate in front of him and another in front of Otto. _Thank you_ , Jack mouthed to her from across the table, as she sat down. She nodded in acknowledgement.

"So…" Echo said quietly when no one spoke. Otto was studying his food, and Alexis was studying him, watching him intently. She was curious about the way he moved and her eyes flickered when he lifted his hand up to his fork and began pushing a piece of carrot around his plate, before putting his fork back down. She drew in a deep breath, narrow her eyes along with her thoughts.

"Where did they pick you up?" She finally said. Otto looked up from the plate and, after realising she was referring to him, he took a moment to prepare his answer.

"A school, like this one," he said carefully. Her brow furrowed, seemingly unsatisfied.

"Then why didn't you stay at that school?" He shrugged.

"What can I say? I'm popular," he replied earning a few chuckles. He had decided that hiding behind his sarcasm would be a good idea until he got a better grasp on this place. "What about you?" Alexis shook her head.

"Can't remember," she said quickly, brushing the comment off with a sharp intake of breath and quick position change in her seat. She did remember, quite well, but it was not something she was going to discuss with a boy she had met that morning, not matter how interesting he seemed, and it certainly wasn't something to be discussed lightly over dinner. "How was training?" she turned to Jack and changed the subject. Otto now knew that her past was an area of personal discomfort. He was curious, but he was going to have to tread lightly if he wanted to find out more. For now, he had decided that he would sit and listen to Jack ramble on about how the test drug he had been given that Monday had really helped his performance, but he had not enjoyed it considering he now felt like a cheat.

Almost an hour into the meal and they were one of the only groups left in the dining hall. Echo and Alexis were having an in depth discussion about the practical exam they had coming up in a couple of days and Otto couldn't help but think of H.I.V.E and their parallels.

"Otto Malpense," a monotone sound. Otto froze and the girls fell silent. He slowly turned in his seat, and standing behind him was one of the black clad guards, like the ones from before. "You are yet to be escorted to your dorm. If you would follow me." Otto looked around at the others, but their blank expressions gave him no confidence. He did not move. "Lack of compliance will result in appropriate punishment," the emotionless man droned on. At this point, another appeared. Otto didn't know what it was, but this one seemed superior, like his handler was the MacDonald's cashier and the manager of the store had just rocked up.

"Jack Fyland six two five eight, Alexis Johnson six two eight nine, Echo six two seven five, you are to report to your dorms immediately," the MacDonald's manager ordered. The three of them looked at each other confused.

"We still have an hour free period," Echo protested.

"My orders have been updated, you are to report to your dorms _immediately,_ " he repeated. Jack stood up slowly, as did Alexis. Confused and angry, Echo and Otto stayed seated. The manager marched over to Echo. "Get up," he said, sounding slightly less like a robot. When she refused, he grabbed her arm roughly and hauled her up.

"Get off her," Alexis said angrily advancing on them. The trained guard spun round, whipping her cheek with the back of his gloved hand. Her head snapped round and she fell back down into her chair. Looking up, she saw that Jack's anger was boiling over and he would have had his go had she not regained her balanced and stopped him. Echo cried out under his grip, worried about Alexis and the familiar feeling of being grappled letting the horrible memories come flooding into her brain. She let out a scream, but was cut off when the guard clamped something down on her skin. She let out a strangled breath, before exhaling and slumping over in the guards arms. He was quick to pick her up.

"She wasn't doing anything wrong," Otto began, but he was dragged from his seat and spun round.

"You can follow me," his own guard said darkly, "or you can join her," he gestured to Echo's unconscious frame, which was already being carried away. Otto swallowed hard. It wasn't a pleasant feeling being sedated and he did want to learn how to get to and from the dorms.

"No thank you, I think I'll pass," he smiled weakly. The guard grumbled something, most likely about Otto's attitude, before pushing him forwards, away from the tables.

They were taken into a large lift. Otto and Jack had been removed before the girls, as the girls' dorm was a couple of floors above. Jack had gone left and Otto was shoved right, down the corridor. The guard had snatched hold of his wrist and read the tag that was around it. Otto was shocked that he hadn't really noticed it before, but he appeared to be wearing what looked like a hospital ID wrist band. The guard read it, before marching him to a door labelled 601. The door was plated with smooth black glass and he could see his warped reflection as well as the thick silver numbers that made up his room number.

"The door will be locked once you have entered. In an emergency, it will be open. From between 0 six hundred and twenty one hundred hours it will be open. You can open it with your wrist band from the outside, like so," he held Otto's wristband to the ID pad, "Protocol is that you will not be able to open the door from the _inside_ for the first two weeks, however after this time period you will be able to unlock the door from the inside. Note that if you are caught out of you dorm during regulated sleeping hours, suitable punishment will ensue. Any further questions?"

"Do I get a minibar?" Otto asked, testing the water slightly.

"You better watch yourself eight two seven six, the jokers never last too long in here." With that he waited for Otto to enter and allowed to the door to shut behind him with a click as it locked itself.

For a moment Otto stood, staring at the door and contemplating how easy it would be to picklock. The room's lights were dimmed, but strips of neon, like the ones back in the wreck room, made shapes on the walls and corners of the slick, black furniture. Where he stood was a narrow space running alongside the bathroom and as he walked forwards that space opened up, housing a large king size bed with black sheets, a dresser and modern chair that sat close the a small, glass bookshelf. Despite his lack of enthusiasm about being kidnapped and confined by another crazy man with too much money, he was impressed by the size and furnishings of the room.

One feature that had not been quite that obvious to him upon his first look now seemed to stand out more than anything else. It seemed as if he had a large window with a view of a tropical beach, the ocean lapping, but upon further inspection, it was nothing more than a cleverly designed, holographic wall mural. On his bedside there lay a small remote, which he picked up and curiously aimed at the picture. There were only two small buttons: left and right arrows. He clicked on the right arrow and the picture flicked, changing to a brightly lit New York skyline. Small flecks of colour danced across Otto's face as he moved in the darkness. He pressed the button again and he was standing in front of the Eiffel tower. He pressed the left arrow soon after and the skyline returned. He pressed it once more, regaining the tropical island. It reminded him of H.I.V.E.

Although he found this all highly entertaining, he was still troubled by what had happened at the dinner table. He could still hear Echo screaming and falling into the guard's arms. Why had he got so close to them so soon? And what was it about Alexis? It was weird, he thought, how she was the first one he'd seen and related to, he had followed her to the detention centre and when he woke up in the wreck room, bumped into her roommate and friend? He didn't know what it was, but they reminded him of his friends. He thought about them when he explored the bathroom, comparing it to the one back at H.I.V.E and picturing Wing. There was a set of grey clothes on the bath edge and he was quick to climb into them. They were more comfortable than his previous clothes. He looked in the mirror and ran a hand through his white hair, messing it up. He thought about Laura and what she was doing right now; with Shelby no doubt. He went back into the main room and slipped under the covers, lying on his side.

* * *

"Something doesn't feel right?" Laura said nervously, slipping past Shelby into their shared bathroom.

"And detective Laura is at it again," Shelby grinned, straightening her bed sheets.

"But doesn't it just seem like Nero's hiding something," she added, brushing her friend's comment to the side. Shelby stood up straight and shrugged, her blonde hair flicking out slightly as she did so.

"What would he be hiding?"

"I don't know, it feels like there's a piece missing, something about this mission." Laura's pretty face crumpled as confusion and doubt twisted through it.

"Well, whether there is or not, we have to be at the hanger bay in five, so let's go detective." Shelby hooked a hand round her arm and dragged her from the room. The door closed behind them with a hiss and their, once cramped surroundings, opened up into a familiar cavern. The air seemed fresh despite being in a volcano; some sort of filter system, they had always assumed. The girls' eyes scanned the crowd, quickly landing on two boys, who had made themselves comfortable in their usual spot on the sofas. Otto's hair, although eccentric, made tasks like that easier than others. Though, they all knew that tasks like that would not be featured in the next few days to come.

"Are you ready?" Otto asked when they finally reached him and Wing. They nodded. "Got all your nice makeup packed?" Shelby glowered at him.

"Very funny. Are we going?" They all began walking.

* * *

There was a bang and Otto woke with a slight gasp. He moaned slightly, being fogged by a tiredness. He looked at the clock. 2:49am it flashed at him, and he let his head fall back down to the pillow, forgetting where he was. There was another bang and this time his eyes opened wider, more alert. A scream rang out through the corridor and, suddenly, he was aware of the room and the bed and the fake beach. Screams and angry shouts fought for air space and Otto wanted to run out and see what was going on, but he remembered the guard's words _. Protocol is that you will not be able to open the door from the inside for the first two weeks._ He could get up out of the extremely comfortable bed, but he wouldn't be able to go anywhere or help in anyway. He let his head fall again, and tried to go back to remembering the days running up to that moment. But, as the screams continued, one thought rolled constantly through his head as he drifted off.

"Welcome to the doll house."


	3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three - Don't lose yourself

Streaming rain glazed the air and the sharp buildings of Sydney's dense city. In the darkness the lights in the windows came to life, dazzling any untrained eye. However, Otto, Laura, Shelby and Wing, who sat in the back of a clean, black hummer, were far too concerned by the task at hand to gaze childishly out of the blacked out windows and gawk at the city's beauty.

"Are you ready shildren?" the woman with ebony hair and an exotic accent turned in the passenger seat to look at them with her black, beady eyes. They nodded in response.

"We're all clear on the plan?" Otto added, earning far more confident responses from his friends, who trusted him more than this actress. "Okay." They climbed out into the rain. The woman flittered in her heels, shielding her perfect updo from the streaming grey clouds.

When they reached the main building, they were quickly ushered inside by the bouncers, but were stopped once they had taken a better look.

"No children," a stern Australian accent said blandly. The woman tutted in disappointment.

"Theyar mine, my 'usband, my poor excuse for a 'usband, left them with meh. I 'ad hoped to…" she paused, biting her lip and looking up at the broad man, "come to some sort of an agreement, no?" With that she slipped the green notes into his top pocket, slowly trailing her hand down his chest, before straightening his jacket. The man coughed, clearing his throat.

"Can I take your coat, Madame?" He took all of their coats. His colleague looked at him with a look of confusion, but he looked ahead and refused his gaze.

Inside, glittering, gold chandeliers hung from the ceiling and the floors were so polished they almost reflected everything above them, including the grand staircase, vases and bouquets upon podiums and the marble statues.

"Wow," Otto breathed. Shelby glanced around like a kid in a candy shop.

"I think I died and went to heaven," she laughed, earning a stern glance from their chaperone.

"Contain yourself shildren," she hissed, "We 'ave a reputation to up'old." She was right, they had a job to do and they were not to let their petty desires risk its success. They had reached the grand staircase and began to ascend. Laura's 1950's style designer red dress flared out as she do so, and Shelby strode by her side in a golden, sleeved, bodycon dress. The two boys wore crisp black suits, Otto with a blue pocket square and Wing with a red one. They did look the part, there was no doubt about that.

The staircase led them to a glittering corridor. The double doors, carved by God's, at the end were guarded by another two tuxedoed men. The five of them strode across the marble with purpose, the girls' heels clicking on the hard flooring.

"Good evening," one of the men smiled, and the both of them pulled the doors open. The five of them passed through onto a balcony overlooking the hall. Music poured out from everything direction. Ice sculptures lined the centre of the dance floor and tables lined the edges of the rooms. The buffet table was drowning in the biggest selection of food Otto had ever scene and he, and his friends, couldn't help but stare at the splendour of the room. However, a cough from their 'mother' snapped them back into focus.

"Wing, you know what you're doing?" Otto muttered from the corner of his mouth. Wing nodded, cold and focused. He turned and broke away from the group. He descended the stairs joining the balcony to the rest of the room, and with one hand, held his jacket while lifting the other to his ear. ' _It's the door on your left_ ' Otto's electronic voice filtered into his ear via the ear piece he had one finger pressed to. He instantly lowered his hands back down once he had received his guidance and headed towards the door on his left. It was pulled open for him by identical servants and he nodded gratefully as he left the room.

Back on the balcony, Otto turned to Laura. "Would you be so kind?" he grinned. Laura rolled her eyes, before taking the crooked arm he had held out for her. They almost glided down to the seating area and, although they were quite obviously the youngest guests, they did look like movie stars. "You look ravishing," Otto smirked.

"Mission Otto, we have a mission," Laura muttered, unamused.

"Who says we can't have a little fun?" he replied playfully. She did admit it was their style, but this was her chance to show Nero that she wasn't just a little pet hacker, but that she was a field agent too.

"Let's not die today Otto," she said flatly, struggling to match his tone. He stopped himself from chuckling and separated from her as he pulled her chair out and gestured for her to sit down. He raised one finger to his ear.

"Shelby, you're up," he signalled quietly. Shelby, who had been enjoying the view so far, now turned to follow Wing. She passed through the door on the left, but turned to her left again, heading away from were Wing had gone. The corridor was just as magnificent as the room she had just come from. Golden framed mirrors lined the walls and all sat behind more podiumed flowers. Her reflection appeared and disappeared as she passed each one and got closer to the doors at the end of the corridor. Beyond them, red carpeted, spiral stairs took her up to the bedrooms.

The master bedroom was breath-taking. There were steps up to the grand bed and there was enough space at the foot of those stairs to have a football game, Shelby thought.

Wing adjusted his shirt sleeve as he made his way down the corridor lined with milling men, all of whom had a woman, covered in jewels and glitter, on their arms. Wing licked his lips, before whistling as he passed them. He wasn't very comfortable with this part of the plan, but Otto had been very clear on its importance. The men, recognising the tune, excused themselves away from their woman, before turning to following him quietly down the corridor. ' _Take a left down the stairs, it's a chrome door,'_ Otto instructed him through his ear piece.

"Chrome?" Wing muttered under his breath with curiosity. However, when they had reached the bottom of the stairs, taking them to the heart of the grand building, there was a door reflecting him and his men in its smooth metal. Oh, so there really is a chrome door… interesting. It was locked, as they had expected, however one of the men stepped forwards wielding a small device Otto had made up before they had left H.I.V.E.

He adhered it to the handle of the door and they waited for a moment as a high pitched shrill rang out and then the door edged open with a click.

* * *

Otto woke with a start that morning. His dream, though vivid, left him pining for his friends. Once his eyes had opened and he stirred with a slight gasp, he took a moment to register the fact that the dream ended so suddenly, and the lack of a logical ending frustrated him. He wished that he could remember how he got there, but there was some sort of wall in his mind that was taking much longer to knock down than he had first thought. He turned onto his side. This time his alarm clock flashed, in thick, green, digital numbers, 6:59am. A few seconds passed and then the clock clicked, before ticking over. 7:00am. The same loud beeping from before rang out and he heard Echo in his head saying "Dinner bell." Breakfast, he thought.

Reluctantly, he pulled the duvet back and swung himself round. The dresser opposite his bed held fresh underwear and socks. He guessed he would have to put the uniform he wore yesterday back on, but he really hoped that it would get washed at some point.

The dining hall was alive with activity. It took Otto a few moments to find Alexis, Echo and Jack amidst the rest of the students, but once he did, he quickly made his way over.

"Good morning," Echo said quietly.

"Morning," Otto muttered in response. He pulled out his chair and sat down. As he did, Jack pushed a plate in front of him. "Thanks." Jack nodded. Silence fell over the table. Alexis glanced at Echo, who glanced back. Then they both shyly looked at Otto, but he noticed. "What's going on?" He questioned. No one moved, but he could have sworn that he saw Alexis sigh slightly. "Alexis?" he asked again, more urgently.

"Look at your bracelet," she said, pointing at the material around his wrist. He looked down. There was a red stamp over his details.

"What is it?"

"We heard one of the escort guards talking about it this morning. The red stamp means priority student, and they've made you one… I'm sorry."

"What does it mean?" he looked around at their sullen faces. Alexis' voice turned his head.

"It means they're gonna tear you apart." Otto would have laughed and brushed it off, but he couldn't; the air, the atmosphere wouldn't let him. He was slightly… ever so slightly worried. Instead, they finished their food in a less than comfortable silence. "I've got a modern politics lecture, so do you Jack," Alexis announced, gesturing for him to get up. He nodded, before following her.

"Mr. Malpense," a guard had come and stood by them. Slowly, Otto stood, but Echo stood up too, her chair scraping on the tile. She quickly swiped a napkin from the table and walked passed, bumping into Otto and shoving the napkin into his hand. As the guard roughly gripped his shirt and began marching him, he opened the napkin and read it. **Don't lose yourself**. He turned and looked at Echo. Their eyes locked for a moment, a desperate moment, before he was pulled back around.

The room Otto was taken to was brightly lit. Once again, he found himself shielding his eyes. There was a long work surface lining the left wall, along with mirrors and several chairs. Several people in white shirts were waiting. It appeared that he was expected.

"Otto Malpense, eight two seven six," the guard announced, causing a white hair man to turn and smile eccentrically at them both. Despite his hair colour, he only looked about thirty.

"Mr Malpense," he beamed with a camp, American accent. "What a pleasure to meet you." He reached forwards with a gloved hand and grabbed a chunk of Otto's messy hair, forcing Otto to pull away in annoyance. "But not your hair, my goodness," he frowned. But just as quickly as it had disappeared, his smile came back. "Don't worry, we'll fix you up, brand new." With that, he guided Otto over to the work bench, and the guard shoved him into the chair, before stepping back and standing tall with his hands clasped behind his back. Otto sat gripping the chair's arms tight. He watched through the mirror as the white-coated figures moved around him. The white haired crazy man stood behind him, lacing his fingers through his hair. He wanted to squirm, hating the feeling. "Let's do something with this," the man mumbled to himself. He was handed a pair of scissors and a comb, and when Otto realised the reality of what was happening he let his eyes widen and began to push himself out of the seat.

The guard was already there, moving fast, he took hold of his shoulder and pushed him back down. The white haired man sighed, before advancing on Otto's hair. Otto didn't want to look at the mirror, instead he looked at the floor and watched as chunks of white drifted down and collected on the black tiles beneath him. His breath was shallow, but he knew as much as anyone that this wasn't the worst thing in the world and he was coping with that thought.

Half an hour must have passed, filled with hair tugging, trimming, shaping and Otto's neck hurt so much that he had to lift his head. He was surprised that he didn't react; he just stared at his reflection, emotionless. He didn't think it was him, because even with something as simple as a haircut and restyle, it didn't look like him. The white haired man brushed the hair off his shoulder and smiled. "There," he said happily, "a simple trimmed and windswept style, perfect." He paused admiring his good work, but then frowned again. "Let's take care of those eye brows." He spun Otto's chair around so that Otto was facing him, but he leant back as far as the chair would allow to avoid the man's grip. As the man advanced with the tweezers, Otto shook his head, before pushing himself out of the chair.

The guard, like clockwork, stepped forwards, grappling his shoulders.

"No, no," Otto protested, struggling in his hands, trying to pry his wrists away. The guard removed one hand, punching Otto hard across the face. His head snapped around and he let out an involuntary whimper as blood sprayed from his mouth. The guard lifted his head, both hands cupping his face, and blood began slowly dripping from his nose. He sat him back down and Otto complied… for now.

"Oh goodness, we're meant to be making him looking beautiful, not a bloody mess," the white haired man fussed, gesturing for a cloth. He wiped the blood from Otto's face, before beginning on his eyebrows. Otto's eyes watered, but he didn't flinch, his head hurt too much. Again, another twenty minutes past and he was spun round and forced to look at a reflection that was even less recognisable.

The white coats then proceeded to hold his head back, dripping a solution into his eyes. The shock and speed of the movements didn't allow him to close his eyes in time. It burnt. His breathing laboured, racing, and he panicked when he lost his sight. He wreathed, pushing them away and rubbing his eyes and face frantically, but when he took his hands away his vision returned. It was blurring at first, but when it returned fully, he could see his traumatised face in the mirror. His eyes. What had they done? They were now the most vibrant, glistening shade of blue, like two sapphires. "There," the man smiled happily. "What next?"

The question forced Otto's head up and it he shook it.

"No," he said, "No, no," was all that he could say. He couldn't get his head around the absurdity of the situation; this wouldn't happen at H.I.V.E. "No." He got up and the clockwork went again and the guard grabbed him. The white haired man coughed, and the guard stopped.

"If Mr Malpense is reluctant to receive our services, can we please sway him, using… less destructive methods?" He smiled. The guard looked at him expectantly. "Karina," he called to a pretty white coat, who came instantly, "Prepare the table," he said as if Otto was five and he was saying 'someone needs a nap'. Otto struggled again in the guard's arms, but he was not strong enough to make any kind of impact on the guard's stance.

Like a rag doll, an object, he was dragged over to the table, pinned down and had a mask forced over his nose and mouth. He could of cried, but he wasn't going to give them the satisfaction and he remembered what Echo had said, **don't lose yourself.** He, Otto, wouldn't have cried and so he didn't. Instead, he fought, yanking his hands away from the white coats pinning him to the cold surface of the table. "It's a benzodiazepine," white hair explained the mask adhered to his face. Otto tried to hold his breath, but as he thrashed, he had to fuel his body. Unfortunately, he was fuelling it was a drug that would stop him from thrashing. He felt himself become weaker and weaker; trying less and less. Eventually, he lay quietly on the table. "Shall we proceed?" white hair smiled.

They washed his face, they treated his skin, legs and arms included. They whitened his teeth and did his nails, toe nails too. They gave him a slight tan, just enough to make his skin glow, but not enough to contrast with his snowy hair. They disassembled him and put him back together again. They changed him, and yes, now he was stunning, model like, but that wasn't him. He felt sick. This wasn't H.I.V.E, or Nero or Raven. This was an evil man, who was going to pull Otto out and replace him with something cold. Beautiful, but deadly and he didn't want that.

 **Don't lose yourself, don't lose yourself, don't lose yourself.**

* * *

"Control room secure," Wing declared through his earpiece, standing with his men amidst the unconscious bodies they had just taken out.

"Master room secure," Shelby added from the safe she had located in the master bedroom.

Otto and Laura, who were playing cards, back in the ball room, heard this. Otto skilfully slid the deck into a pile, flipping a few between his fingers, before putting them away.

"We're up," he muttered, both him and Laura gracefully rising and striding across the room to the door. They joined Wing in the control room. "Watch the doors," Otto ordered, helping Laura set up their gear among the computers. The laptop flickered to life, bright blue symbols flashing across the screen, as Wing advanced towards the door. "How long Brand," Otto asked, in mission mode.

"I can get us into the system in two minutes," she report, her fingers flying over the keyboard, typing in strings of commands. Otto, meanwhile, worked on hacking into the security feed, which took him less than a minute and he now stood monitoring the room and corridors.

"We good to go?" Shelby questioned from upstairs.

"Give us two minutes," Otto replied. Two minutes and there was a bleep.

"I'm in," Laura exclaimed, checking her data was accurate. Otto held a hand to his ears piece.

"We're good Shelby, do you copy?"

"I copy," she replied, pulling the safe open, which was easy thanks to Laura's handy work. "I have visual on the microchip," was the last thing she said before she pulled it out and slipped in an inactive replicate and replaced the safe door. She was quick to join the others in the control room, where they removed their equipment.

"Let's get out of here," Laura said quickly. Otto nodded and they headed down the door, but as they were heading towards the staircase… _Otto…Otto_ , the whisper echoed passed the walls and décor to Otto. He stopped. Laura stopped to and looked at him. "Otto, what are you doing?"

"Can you hear that?" _Otto…Otto._ Laura narrowed her eyes and shook her head.

"What? No, Otto come on," she beckoned him to follow. He didn't move.

"You go, I'll be there in a minute..."

"Otto?"

"Just go." For a moment, she stood and her face told the story of an internal battle in folding in her mind, but then Otto's orders overruled and she spun, flicking her red hair out like a fan. Before she had even caught up with the others, Otto had turned his attention to the where the whispers were coming from. An open door down at the far end of the hallway. As he got closer, the whispers got louder, guiding his movements. Then suddenly, the hallway began to fall away and the walls faded into a blackness. Frustration clouded Otto's mind as he lost grip on the memory and once again hit a solid part of the wall, which wasn't coming down.

* * *

Otto's head pounded. He groaned as he was lifted from the table. There were more guards, two more, but he was too dizzy and tired to notice. He was surprised at how careful they were when they held him upright. One man at each arm and one more at his back, they dragged him from the room. There was no way Otto could fight them, and so he didn't try; he let his head fall and he closed his eyes. All the flooring looked the same, either black or white tile. The only variation was the carpets in the dorms and hallways in the dorm units. But they weren't in the dorms and so white tiles passed endlessly as Otto was taken to goodness knows where. He would have been curious had he not felt so drained. He didn't really care where he was going, but there was still apart of him that was frustrated by this feeling, as he knew it was not him, but the drug making him feel that way.

He heard a bleep and slowly raised his head. The room they entered was cold and quite dark. Grey walls, black tiles. Grey metal machinery, tables, trays, and, as expected, a bed in the centre for Otto. _Lucky me_ , he thought. They lifted him up onto this bed and fastened the restraints that held his arms out to the side like a cross. Then they left, leaving him in the cold and the dark. He breathed deeply, as the benzodiazepine was yet to fully wear off and he was still fairly relaxed, and waited…

Otto screwed his eyes up, blinking hard to clear his head. The world around him was stilling moving slow, but he had been lying there for more than five minutes and he was beginning to wake up slightly.

The familiar bleep of the electric lock sounded and Otto craned his neck to watch Braedon enter slowly. He was wearing a navy blue suit today, just as sharp as the last one. His dark hair was still neatly styled, but his eyes weren't beaming with sarcasm or whit like last time. They were cold and focused.

He moved over slowly, his slick shoes padding on the tile. When he reached Otto, Otto tugged on the metal around his wrists. Braedon ignored him and reached under the bed. There was a metallic click and the bed flipped up. Otto grunted as the bed jolted to a halt and he hit his back against the metal. He now hung from the restraints that held his arms out to the side like a cross. His head hung, but Braedon grabbed his jaw and forced his head up.

Braedon looked him over; the vibrant blue eyes, white smile, modelled hair. For a while, he was silent… then.

"They did a good job," he stated simply. Otto pulled his face out of his hand and looked away. "Ah, there, you see?" he tutted quietly. "I don't like it when you do that."

"Go to hell," Otto groaned. Braedon smiled, but then the smile disappeared.

"I admire your spirit, I must say," he moved over to one of the many machines that Otto didn't recognise. "However, you're not here because of your spirit." He pulled a lever and a zapping sound filled the air. Pain seared through Otto's back and any other part of his body that was touching the metal. He screamed.

Braedon pulled the lever back the other way and the searing heat disappeared, but his flesh still burnt. His head fell and he breathed heavily, his chest heaving. He heard Braedon's shoes and knew he was getting closer, but he didn't care.

Braedon placed his hand over Otto's forehead and shoved his head back. It collided with the head rest with a bang, causing him to make a small choking sound. "You belong to me now," Braedon said sinisterly. "Say it."

Otto was silent.

Braedon let his head fall back down and moved over to the lever. The zapping sound rang out once more, along with Otto's screams. It didn't stop as quickly as the last time and he cried out, choking and spluttering. He felt pathetic, but still, he couldn't stop screaming until Braedon turned the machine off.

And again, he hung, trying hard to breathe.

"Say it," Braedon hissed, facing him again. With all of the energy he had left, he shook his head and Braedon sighed.

He moved away again.

This time, to a table housing several knives. He picked up the largest one and twisted it in his fingers. Otto struggled violently as he returned to his original position by Otto's side. "Say it," he whispered. Otto craned his neck away to escape his grip and the blade he wielded, but Braedon gripped his jaw and turned it towards him, when he was silent.

Carefully, he lifted the blade and it glinted dangerously under the electric white lights. It got closer and closer to Otto's, now flawless, skin. Then he felt the cold of it just above his eye, as Braedon pressed it. He felt it cut into his skin and whimpered. Slowly, _painfully_ slowly, he dragged the knife down passed his left eye.

As the pain increased, he cried out and blood began to drip from the wound that was forming. He pulled the blade away and crimson now poured down his face; the pain sealed his left eye shut and he, again, could barely breathe. "I." The knife came closer, "belong." Closer, "To." The knife touched, "you…" He began dragging again. Sweat and blood dripped into Otto's mouth, which hesitated, but everything hurt so much and he couldn't help but sigh in defeat.

"I belong to you. I belong to you," he almost pleaded and the knife was taken away. There was a click and the restraints released, before Otto fell to the floor. Blood, sweat and tears ran down his face, his crystal blue eyes sparkling through the deep red.

* * *

"Damn politics," Jack sighed in frustration, slumping down in his chair and smacking his plate down on the table in front of him. "Give me a bow staff any day, I'll be great, but the methods of infiltration of the federal system or whatever crap she was talking about," he complained.

"If you actually listened," Alex began, sitting next to him, "you might actually find it interesting." He didn't argue, instead just grumbled into his food. Echo joined them on the other side of the table.

"Has anyone seen Otto?" she asked, lifting a spoonful of tomato soup to her mouth.

"I don't know, he's not in here," Alexis replied, looking down at her food. She had already looked around for him. For the first time in weeks, they ate in silence. All with the same thought.

* * *

Alexis drifted aimlessly down the corridor. She had just finished a medical exam and was clutching her arm, which was bandaged and, under the bandage, was cut open by an IV cannula. They had kept it in for further testing, which she had guessed would proceed in the night. She had two hours before dinner and she wasn't going to go and find Echo up in the dorms, but she thought about the time she had to kill and decided to take her time.

She had managed to wonder to the white painted, windowed doors that led to the dinner hall, wreck room and stairs up to the dorms, but there wasn't something going on. A hoard of people stood in the space between the three spaces. Some were crying and someone screamed. Alert now, Alexis pulled the door open and ran forwards.

"Move," she ordered, pushing though the sea of white. "Get out the way." She forced her way through, but when she reached the front she stopped. Her eyes widened. Jack was crouched on the floor with one hand behind Otto's head. Blood covered his face and his clothes. "Otto," Alexis whispered in shock. She threw herself to the floor. At the same time, Echo appeared and joined them. Alexis reached for her arm and began unravelling the bandage, barely wincing with she ripped the cannula out.

Echo took the bandage she held out and began cleaning the blood away gently. She placed his head on her lap, giving Jack his hands back, so he stood up and ushered everyone away.

"Go," he shouted, "Go on move, he doesn't need you crowding him like that." Teachers helped from the outside of the circle, guiding people away. "Move," Jack shouted again and eventually they disbanded.

Back on the floor, where Echo was wrapping the bandage around Otto's head, she turned and looked at Alexis with a look of disbelief. Alexis looked at her, saying with her eyes… _I know,_ before she looked at Otto, who was barely conscious.

All the while, standing in a cooled office, a silhouette of a man watched a large screen. Braedon watched the chaos and the actions of his friends unfold through the security feeds and was intrigued.


	4. Chapter Four

Chapter Four - Conversations

Alexis found Otto in the viewing bay, looking out across the auditorium. There was a gauze pad over his left eye, and the skin around it was still tinted slightly purple.

Far below, the small figures of Echo and Jack were caught in a heated sparing session and the two above could just about hear their persistent cries through the thick glass that separated them.

"Hey," she said gently as she wandered into the viewing bay. Her voice made his head turn and when he recognised her he gave her a weak smile. _"Hey,"_ he mouthed in returned and she joined him at the window, resting her arms on the bar that ran across it. They stood there for a moment before Otto took in a deep breath and turned to her. She looked at him expectantly.

"Am I still pretty?" he said quietly, earning a slightly shocked laugh from her. She nodded, grinning.

"Very much so," she said supportively; though she wouldn't be encouraging him if it wasn't for what he had been subjected to… it made her wonder.

Silence fell over them…

"It was rough what Braedon did to you yesterday," she said suddenly, the words pouring out quickly as if she had pent up the statement since the incident. Otto said nothing. Instead, he let his fists tense a little bit more. She saw this, "Sorry, I-I didn't mean to come out with it like that, I'm just worried," she admitted. This made Otto curious.

"Why are you worried?" he replied. She let out a sigh, her dark hair flicking as her head dropped.

"I mean, yeah, Braedon runs this place, but we never see him. He gave you a _personal_ torture session… as far as I know, that's never happened before and I can't help but think why you, and why now?"

"I told you I was popular…" Otto replied, but with no humour. He was interested by what Alexis had said, but at the same time, wished that his interest or her explanation was not necessary. She let out a slight scoffing laugh.

"No kidding…"

Silence.

"Look," she began again, quiet and serious this time, "I'm sure they haven't explained everything to you, but there's a group of us…" she paused, trying hard to find the words. "That, well, are different, and I don't mean good fighters or exceptional hackers or anything like that, I mean…"

"Alexis, I know-" Otto tried to stop her, but she almost wasn't listening to him.

"It's okay Otto, I know it's hard for you to understand," she cut him off, ignorant of his experience and personal abilities.

"Alexis, I saw you," he said firmly, making her listen. She stopped and frowned at him in confusion. "The first day I was here, I saw what you did to that boy, _I know._ Trust me, I don't want to, but I get it. How do you think I ended up in the detention centre with you?" Otto surprised himself, it felt wrong, the way he was addressing her, like it wasn't him talking. Her eyes narrowed, before widening with a sudden realisation.

" _You?"_ she whispered, looking him over. He nodded. "Oh," she was taken aback, "well that makes things considerably easier…"

Silence.

Then, Otto looked at the two who were still fighting down in the auditorium below.

"And those two?"

"Jack? I don't know," she replied, now also looking down at them, watching as they skilfully dodged each other's blows and tried to catch each other of guard. "But Echo…" Otto's head turned curiously, "she once told me my whole life story, down to the name of the goldfish I had when I was three…"

"She can do that?"

"They started calling her gold finger, all it took was one touch and she knew everything, but she couldn't control it. When she started acting out and people got hurt they drilled the rules into her harder than anyone. She doesn't do it anymore… too scared. Then they started calling her Echo and it stuck, I suppose," she explained, moving away from the window and casually folding her arms.

As if the guards were waiting until they were talking about her, screams rang out from below them, causing both of them to snap back to the window. Jack was wrestling a guard, whilst two more dragged Echo, kicking and screaming, towards the heavy steel doors. Otto headed towards the stairwell, but Alexis reached out and pulled him to a halt. "What are you going to do?" she asked seriously. Otto didn't know. "Huh? What _can_ you do?" She pulled him back to his original position and softened. "I know, it kills me every time," the words quietly slipped out as she watched her best friend's head whip round, after being slapped violently. "But what can we do?" She looked Otto straight in the eye, the hazel irises sparkling. "Otto, they know now, what you can do and they're going to do everything they can to turn you into something you're not. They're going to make you feel so much pain and you'll want to give up, I promise you, and I don't know where you came from, or what you did, but remember who you were and what made you happy. Focus on a memory, anything, and don't let it go, and don't let go," she seemed to become more urgent as she spoke as if she was expecting a spontaneous attack.

The doors hissed open, like she knew they would.

"Miss Johnson, you are to report to the detention centre for a verbal regulation violation. Mr Malpense, you are to report to your dorm unit immediately."

Otto thought of Shelby. Otto thought of Wing… he thought of Laura. _Focus on a memory… don't let it go._ Okay.


End file.
